i agree the test should be "which sounds correct", not "better". They should also test and record with a mic first to prove that what the subjects are hearing is in fact different. If you play two mp3 tracks and people say "none sound like the original", then you know people can detect the loss due to compression. Which is also an argument for buying better equipment to play audio on. In theory, the more expensive the audio equipment, the more accurate the reproduced audio should be, just like FLAC should be able to reproduce the original audio better than mp3 at any bitrate. Which is why it's important to listen to the audio equipment in the store first, to make sure you are spending your money in a way that goes with your listening preference.